God Comes Down
June 5, 2022
Preached by David McHale
Scripture Reading
John 1:1-18
1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2 He was in the beginning with God. 3 All things were made through him, and without him was not any thing made that was made. 4 In him was life, and the life was the light of men. 5 The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.
6 There was a man sent from God, whose name was John. 7 He came as a witness, to bear witness about the light, that all might believe through him.8 He was not the light, but came to bear witness about the light.
9 The true light, which gives light to everyone, was coming into the world.10 He was in the world, and the world was made through him, yet the world did not know him. 11 He came to his own, and his own people did not receive him. 12 But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God, 13 who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God.
14 And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth.15 (John bore witness about him, and cried out, “This was he of whom I said, ‘He who comes after me ranks before me, because he was before me.’”)16 For from his fullness we have all received, grace upon grace. 17 For the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ.18 No one has ever seen God; the only God, who is at the Father's side, he has made him known.
In World War II, the Japanese lieutenant, Hiroo Onoda was separated from his troop while in the islands of the Philippines. He hid deep in the jungle on the island of Lubang. He remained hidden in the jungle until the war was over. However, being isolated in the jungle, he didn’t hear word of the end of the war. Even when he did hear word, he didn’t believe it. Though leaflets that declared the war was over were dropped above the island, Lieutenant Onoda was convinced that he was being manipulated. He told one news outlet, “The leaflets they dropped were filled with mistakes, so I judged it was a plot by the Americans." So, he remained at his post, in uniform, prepared for war, for nearly three decades. It wasn’t until 1974 when his personal commander came to the island to relieve him of his post that he surrendered to the Philippine president.
Onoda was unwavering in his vow to fight for his nation, stubborn enough to persevere in the face of dire circumstances. His honor was on the line. Yet, he had tightened his grip on his own reality to the extent that, even when good news came, he rejected it. This good news held in it a promise of freedom, but it also required him to admit defeat, to acknowledge that he was wrong.
We are not so unlike Lieutenant Onoda. We have trouble waving our white flag of surrender in a world of war. We resist facing our wrong, even when there is a promise of welcome on the other side. We too are stubborn. Our pride is on the line.
Yet, even while we tend to reject the truth, we long for it – we ache for a way out of the jungle of our own sin and suffering. But, like Onoda’s personal commander who came into his world to convince him of the truth, we need someone to draw near and speak a word of good news. And the Gospel of John testifies to that very thing.
Some have considered John 1:1-18 the prologue of John’s gospel – the overture – a foretaste of what is to come. We spent the whole season of Advent walking through it, which spanned five sermons. It is well worth it to come back to it again.
1. Who He Is – v. 1-5, 14 (Authority)
1In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2 He was in the beginning with God. 3 All things were made through him, and without him was not anything made that was made.
We might expect that he would tell us about a young virgin named Mary, a lowly stable, and a newborn baby dwelling in a manger, but instead John catapults us into the dwelling place of God at the beginning of all things. “In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth” (Gen. 1:1). We hear of this “Word” who both dwelled with God and was Himself God. He was the channel through which everything came into being, all matter, all life, all flesh. What was the first thing that God did in Genesis 1 – he spoke. In verse 3 we read, “And the Lord said, “Let there be light.” And there was light.” All through Genesis 1, what does God do? He speaks. He sends out his Word and stars shine, water fills the seas, mountains rise, gardens grow, birds soar – and from the dust, God makes man and woman – breathing his life into them.
4 In him was life, and the life was the light of men. 5 The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.
At the beginning of everything, the Word of God brought light to a dark and formless world – from then until now, his light remains, and darkness has not overcome it. Then, in v. 14, we read maybe one of the most shocking and glorious verses in the Bible:
14 And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth.
The Word of God, who was with God in the beginning and was Himself God became flesh and blood. This is Jesus Christ! Jesus is the Word who dwelled with God in the beginning. He is God. In Jesus Christ, God has come down to dwell among us. But he has not just come to dwell with us. He has become one with us. Notice the word ‘became.’ It does not say that the Word ‘embraced’ flesh nor does it say that the Word ‘inhabited’ flesh. The Word became flesh. God became a man with iris’, pupils and a set of fingernails, a man with two feet, lungs and a rib cage, a man with two ears and a voice box with which he spoke audible words of wisdom, truth and grace.
However, we must also say that even when he grew tired from walking from town to town, He remained the God through whom all things were made. Jesus was not just another sage or the head of another man-made religion. He was not another “man among men.”[1] John reinforces this point by explaining the role of John the Baptist. We read in v. 6-8,
6 There was a man sent from God, whose name was John. 7 He came as a witness, to bear witness about the light, that all might believe through him. 8 He was not the light but came to bear witness about the light.
And in v. 15,
15 (John bore witness about him, and cried out, “This was he of whom I said, ‘He who comes after me ranks before me, because he was before me.’”)
Jesus is the Maker of heaven and earth and he has came to dwell among us. The word that John used for dwell here is tabernacle. In Jesus, God tabernacled among us. In other words, he set up camp in our midst – he took up residence in our town. If you were with us while we walked through the book of Exodus, you will remember that God gave the people instructions to build a tabernacle, a tent, that he might dwell with them. And He did.
But in the tabernacle in the Exodus and later the temple in Jerusalem God dwelled with his people in a limited way. God dwelled behind a curtain in the Holy of Holies where, as Benjamin told us a few weeks ago, only the High Priest could venture once a year. But now, in Jesus Christ, God has drawn near, tabernacled himself among us, proving to us that God has not abandoned us, but pursues us – chases us down, all the way into the dust that he has made. “and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father,” (v. 14). The glory of Jesus is the glory of God! John says in v. 18,
18 No one has ever seen God; the only God, who is at the Father's side, he has made him known.
Jesus is the explanation of God. We don’t need to wonder about who lives behind the curtain of the cosmos. Jesus has torn the veil to reveal the heart of God for the world.
This is the Gospel. The Gospel is the Word that has become flesh. The Gospel is Jesus Christ himself. Yet He was not good news to everyone.
9 The true light, which gives light to everyone, was coming into the world. 10 He was in the world, and the world was made through him, yet the world did not know him. 11 He came to his own and his own people did not receive him.
God drew near to his own people and they ran him out of town. They rejected him. The audacity of his claims were utter blasphemy to them.
What do you make of Jesus Christ? Do you believe that He, Jesus of Nazareth who lived over 2000 years ago was in fact God in the flesh? Do you believe him when he himself claims as much in John 10:30 that He is one with God the Father? We cannot be on the fence about him. He must not be ignored – even more, he can’t be. You can’t listen to his wisdom and reject who He claims to be. Maybe you’ve been a Christian for years – return to this question again. C.S Lewis in his very famous quote from his book Mere Christianity says this:
“I am trying here to prevent anyone saying the really foolish thing that people often say about Him: I’m ready to accept Jesus as a great moral teacher, but I don’t accept his claim to be God. That is the one thing we must not say. A man who was merely a man and said the sort of things Jesus said would not be a great moral teacher. He would either be a lunatic — on the level with the man who says he is a poached egg — or else he would be the Devil of Hell. You must make your choice. Either this man was, and is, the Son of God, or else a madman or something worse. You can shut him up for a fool, you can spit at him and kill him as a demon or you can fall at his feet and call him Lord and God, but let us not come with any patronizing nonsense about his being a great human teacher. He has not left that open to us. He did not intend to.”[2]
We must respond to Jesus. And we will. We will believe or disbelieve. We will bow before him or we will stiffen our necks in prideful opposition. How do you respond to him? In all of his glory, Jesus presents himself to you today. He has made himself available to you. He has drawn near to you – to dwell with you – to set up camp in your life. To shine the light of his glory upon you. If you will let him.
2. What He Gives (v. 14-18)
If Jesus has shown us the glory of God, what is his glory like? The tale end of v. 14 tells us.
“and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth.”
In verses 1-5, John has given us a glimpse into the identity of Jesus – and here, he invites us to see the character of Jesus – what he is like. John, a man who knew Jesus intimately and spent years pondering his life, describes Jesus as full of grace and truth. The gospel is not just that God has come down, but the character with which he has done so.
He is full of truth. He doesn’t come to tell us that we are okay. He comes to show us the truth that without him we are not okay (far from it) – we have fallen short of the glory of God. He shines the light of his holy truth into the dark places of our hearts to confront and come against our rebellion against God. Jesus comes to say no to my sin, my apathy, my lack of love. He comes against your passive drifting from your walk with him – your hidden contempt for your spouse – your stubborn anxiety that refuses to trust God. Jesus disrupts our lives. As the King of kings, He has every right to. What needs to be brought into the light in your life today? Why not open yourself up to his gaze this morning?
Maybe you are like Liuetenant Onoda who, in the darkness of the jungle, grew suspicious of the truth that came from outside his reality – a truth that exposed his wrong. Maybe it costs you too much to invite the light of Jesus to shine on you.
But his light is good. His truth is in fact a grace. Jesus is full of truth and grace. John says in v. 16-17:
16 For from his fullness we have all received, grace upon grace. 17 For the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ.
Jesus is brimming over with kindness for the undeserving. Jesus has drawn near to us, not to punish, but to heal – to redeem, to forgive, to cleanse. He comes not with heartless critiques designed to ridicule us into submission, but with true words of life and an unearned welcome into his heart. He delights to receive sinners – it is why he came. He is full of grace.
We need both truth and grace. Truth without grace is horrifying – but grace without the truth is useless. Jesus gives us both. In this way, he is like a good doctor who both diagnoses your sickness and treats you for it. How ill of a doctor would he be if all he did was diagnose our problem, but simply walked away or gave us a list of things to do that would never solve it? Or how poor of a doctor would he be if he had wonderful bedside manner, but had no clue what was wrong with us – or even worse, knew what was wrong and never did anything about it? Jesus both diagnoses our fallen condition, calls us out of the sins that plague us, and he draws near to redeem us.
He shows this most radiantly in the cross. Jesus yielded himself to his enemies, his own people who sought to snuff out the Word of God, but in their rebellion, only amplified it. On the cross, Jesus showed us what our sin costs and at the same time showed us how far God is willing to go to save us from sin and death. And Jesus, the Word made flesh, did not remain doomed to dust, but rose from the grave and reigns now still embodied, full of grace and truth.
We’d often rather have his grace without the truth. We want the resurrection without the cross. We want to feel better about ourselves without having to endure the pain of being exposed for who we really are. To believe in Jesus is to receive both, to take him in as the God-man who is worthy to command us and desires to cure us. True belief comes with a promise.
12 But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God, 13 who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God.
All who take Jesus at his Word, are welcomed into the family of God. Consider the scandalous grace of becoming a son or daughter of God. We who have profaned the name of God are invited into his family – and given a seat at his table, not as a guest, but as his child. In Christ, we who believe receive a new name, a new identity, that bears with it the status and privileges of being God’s son or daughter. We can call God Father. Jesus is the Only Son of the Father. In verse 18, John writes that Jesus is “at the Father's side,” which can be translated “in the bosom of the Father.” Jesus the Only Son of God, dwells at his Father’s chest, in his heart – and all those who believe and receive him are caught up into that same intimate fellowship of the Father and the Son.
To close, hear these words of John in his first epistle, speaking of this very thing. This is 1 John 3:1-3:
“See what kind of love the Father has given to us, that we should be called children of God; and so we are. The reason why the world does not know us is that it did not know him. Beloved, we are God's children now, and what we will be has not yet appeared; but we know that when he appears[a] we shall be like him, because we shall see him as he is. And everyone who thus hopes in him purifies himself as he is pure.”
If you are in Christ, you have the love of the Maker of heaven and earth, who knows you better than you know yourself. You do not need to work your way into the family, but you are a son or daughter by true grace. For those of us who love Christ, we will see him and we will be made like him. Until then, we make it our aim to live like we are his, to please him – that we might witness to the glory of his grace.
[1] Lesslie Newbigin
[2] C.S. Lewis, Mere Christianity
Discussion Questions
Why is it such a big deal that God became a man?
Why do we need both grace and truth?
What would change (or has changed) in your life if you believed Jesus is who he says he is?
What does it mean to be a son or daughter? What does it look like to live like a son or daughter of God?
